HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 723

By Bone

A RESOLUTION to recognize Major General Gus L. Hargett, Jr., on the occasion of his retirement.

WHEREAS, it is appropriate that the members of this legislative body should honor those citizens who have performed with uncommon devotion and enthusiasm throughout their years of industry; and

WHEREAS, Major General Gus Hargett is one such estimable person who has served with distinction for eight years as the seventy-fourth Adjutant General of , in which position he has served with resolute dedication while displaying the finest qualities of military distinction; and

WHEREAS, first appointed to Tennessee’s highest military post in 2002, General

Hargett was reappointed to the post by Governor Bredesen in 2003, and he will soon be taking a much deserved retirement; and

WHEREAS, as Adjutant General of Tennessee, General Hargett has been responsible for the supervision of the Military Department of Tennessee, which includes the Army National

Guard, the Air National Guard, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and the

Tennessee State Guard; and

WHEREAS, during a sterling career that has spanned more than forty-seven years,

General Hargett, in fitting recognition of his abilities and leadership qualities, has risen to the highest position in Tennessee military service; and

WHEREAS, General Hargett enlisted in the Tennessee Army National Guard on August

31, 1962, as an infantry soldier. Upon his completion of Officer Candidate School at the

Tennessee Military Academy, General Hargett was commissioned as an infantry officer at the rank of second lieutenant on August 6, 1966; and

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WHEREAS, he ascended through the ranks of the Army National Guard quickly. He was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant on August 5, 1969, of captain on November 21,

1972, of major on October 6, 1978, of lieutenant colonel on November 24, 1982, of colonel on

March 14, 1991, and of on December 16, 1995, before being promoted to the rank of major general on August 1, 2002; and

WHEREAS, General Hargett has fulfilled a number of leadership and staff roles throughout his career. He began his commissioned service as a platoon leader and executive officer in the 3/117 th Infantry Battalion, 3 rd Brigade, 30 th Armored Division based in Ripley, holding those positions until July 1967; and

WHEREAS, General Hargett was next assigned to serve as a platoon leader in the 268 th

Military Police Company, 168 th Military Police Battalion, also based in Ripley, a position he filled until November of 1972 when he was chosen to serve as that company’s commander; and

WHEREAS, it was in November of 1975 that General Hargett was instituted as the logistics officer of the 168 th Military Police Battalion in Dyersburg; three years later, he was assigned as the battalion’s intelligence and operations officer; and

WHEREAS, between April of 1982 and June of 1987, General Hargett served as the

Chief of Mobilization Plans with the III US Corps at Fort Hood, Texas; the Chief of the Plans

Division, Fifth US Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas; and instructor of the Mobilization and

Deployment Planning Course, Command and General Staff College, Fort Sam Houston; and

WHEREAS, beginning in August 1987, General Hargett attended the NATO Defense

College in Rome, Italy. General Hargett holds the distinction of being the first National Guard officer to attend the resident NATO Defense College; and

WHEREAS, General Hargett continued his studies at the Defense Language Institute in

Washington, D.C., between March and May of 1988, after which he was assigned as the Chief of Overseas Deployment Training, Headquarters, US Army Europe, in Heidelberg, Germany; and

WHEREAS, in July of 1989, General Hargett once again donned the cap of student and attended the Army War College Fellowship at Ohio State University; and

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WHEREAS, during Operations Desert Storm/Desert Shield, he was assigned as the

Chief of the Operations and Exercises Branch, National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon in

Washington, DC; and

WHEREAS, between April of 1992 and April of 1994, General Hargett served as the

Commander of Detachment 1, Troop Command, Tennessee National Guard in Nashville, whereupon he was promoted to the position of Assistant Adjutant General, a position he served in until July of 2002 when he was named as the Adjutant General; and

WHEREAS, in addition to Officer Candidate School, General Hargett has completed countless hours of coursework throughout his career. He attended and completed the Military

Police Officer Basic Course in 1968, the Military Police Advanced Course in 1971, the

Command and General Staff College in 1976, the Electronic Warfare Staff Officer Course in

1981, the Radiological Monitoring Course of the Tennessee Civil Defense in 1982, Tennessee

Civil Defense’s Instructor Workshop in 1982, the Mobilization Planners Orientation Course in

1984, the Armor Field Grade Officer Refresher Course in 1985, coursework at the NATO

Defense College in 1988, German language training at the Defense Language Institute in 1988, coursework at the US Army War College in 1990, the Mobilization and Deployment Planning

Course at the US Army Command and General Staff College in 1993, and the Tennessee

Government Executive Institute in 1998; and

WHEREAS, in 1987, General Hargett gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal

Justice from Cumberland University; and

WHEREAS, General Hargett has also committed his time and energies to a number of committees and boards, including serving a six-year term as a member of the Army Reserve

Forces Policy Committee and a two-year term as the Chairman of the Board of the National

Guard Association of the United States. Currently, he is a valued member of the Department of

Defense’s Reserve Forces Policy Board; and

WHEREAS, during his distinguished career, General Gus Hargett has garnered a number of decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with one

Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army

Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Army - 3 - 01206535

Achievement Medal, the Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with one Silver Leaf

Cluster, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve medal with one Gold

Hourglass Device, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Superior

Unit Award, the Army Staff Identification Badge, the Oklahoma Distinguished Service Medal, the

Tennessee National Guard Distinguished Service Medal, the Tennessee National Guard

Commendation Ribbon, the Tennessee National Guard Individual Achievement Ribbon, the

Tennessee National Guard Service Ribbon with one Silver Oak Leaf Cluster and one Bronze

Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Tennessee National Guard Volunteer Ribbon; and

WHEREAS, General Hargett is a devout member of the First Baptist Church in

Murfreesboro, where he has held membership for a number of years; and

WHEREAS, he is also devoted to family ideals of the highest order and is most appreciative of the love and support he shares with his wife of thirty-one years, Shirley, and their children, Tre, Shea, John, and Karen; and

WHEREAS, General Gus Hargett exemplifies the spirit and allegiance to family and community that are characteristic of a true Tennessean; and

WHEREAS, throughout his estimable career, General Hargett has demonstrated the utmost professionalism, ability, and integrity, winning the unbridled respect and admiration of

Tennessee’s military personnel; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED

SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE

CONCURRING, that we extend to Major General Gus L. Hargett, Jr. our heartfelt wishes for a happy and fulfilling retirement and every continued success in his future endeavors, applauding his long and storied career in the Tennessee Army National Guard.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy.

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